Detachable spiral conveyor ore classifier



Feb. 3, 1959 w E. ENDREZZE 2,87

DETACHABLE SPIRAL CONVEYOR ORE CLASSIFIER Filed Oct. 25. 1954 3 SheetsSheet 1 O IN VEN TOR. ma 6W W. E. ENDREZZE Feb. 3, 1959 872,042

DETACHABLE SPIRAL CONVEYOR ORE OLASSIFIER S Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 25. 1954 IN V EN TOR.

Feb. 3, 1959 w. E. ENDREZZE ,3

DETACHA BLE SPIRAL CONVEYOR ORE CLASSIFIER I Filed Oct. 25. 1954 1' 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 DETACHABLE SPIRAL CONVEYOR ORE CLASSHFEER This invention appertains to ore classifiers and has for its prime object to generally improve upon similar structures now well known in the art as described by my Ore Classifier patented May 21, 1929, 1,714,007, to provide a more efficient and reliable operation in the separation and classifying of materials which have different settling rates in liquids, whether such difference is caused by a variation in the specific gravity of the particles, as in the concentration of ores, or in the size of the particles when homogeneous as in the separation of sand and slimes.

The apparatus, however, is exemplified in the present application as being designed particularly for classifying the sands and slimes in wet crushed pulp for ore concentration and for convenience it will be assumed in the following description that the pulp is being treated for that purpose. a

This invention provides a simple and efficient head motion, designed in such a manner as to be compact, having no exposed moving parts, considerably shortening the overall length of the classifier and with less head space required in its setting for operation.

Another important object of this invention is the method by which the head-motion is mounted upon an axle shaft cross member to provide the means by which the head-motion rocks on its axis in the raising and lowering of the lower end of the spiral conveyor.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple and efficient method of detaching the spiral conveyor from the head-motion by means of the spiral conveyor shaft joints and coupler, leaving the mechanism of the head-motion undisturbed. A valuable consideration in the cost when making repairs.

A still further object of this invention is the method of automatic lift by which the lower end of the spiral conveyor is raised and lowered to compensate for the periodic overloading of the classifier feed circuit, which acts to prevent the stoppage of the classifier at a critical time, or any breakage of mechanism that might occur due to overloading. It will be appreciated to know an attendant operator is not required tobe present for manual care of the classifier to prevent stoppage or breakage of the classifier when an overload in the feed circuit is building up against the spiral conveyor of the classifier.

The novel features which i consider as a characteristic for my inventionare set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method by which the operation is accomplished, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the'accompanying drawings in which:

2,872,042 Patented Feb. 3, 1959 ice s it.) Figure 2 is a top plan view of a single compartment classifier, to illustrate the compact and efficient position of the head-motion mechanism with the spiral conveyor as represented in partial drawing.

Figure 3 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 33 of the tank of Figure 2 to illustrate the ribbon flight spiral conveyor in normal operating position along the bottom of the tank, with the lifting device attached to the lower end of the spiral conveyor shaft.

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the classifier head-motion as seen from the position-at line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the head-motion mounted upon its tiltable supporting axle cross member.

Figure 6 is a rear elevational view of the head-motion and spiral shaft bearing mounted upon its tiltable supporting axle cross member as seen from the position at line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a preferred detachable form of the upper end of the spiral conveyor shaft.

Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the Worm and gear mechanism in arrangement for the purpose of this invention. It illustrates an over system of spiral conveyor drive.

Figure 9 is an end elevational view illustrating in arrangement the driving mechanism for the spiral conveyor shaft.

Figure 10 illustrates a lift cylinder straight shaft and coupler.

Figure 11 is a partial rear view of a cast gear casing, showing the axle through bar upon which the head-motion rocks.

Figure 12 is an elevational cross sectional View of the automatically actuated lift cylinder apparatus.

Figure 13 is a cross sectional view of the mechanism that constitutes the operation of the slow leak valve.

Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 illustrate the automatic spiral conveyor end lifting and lowering mechanism.

Referring to the drawings in detail and particularly the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, it will be seen that the tank 3 forms an elongated trough which is disposed at an incline, being suitably mounted in a frame supporting structure 4 which is also inclined, one end of which may rest on the floor and the other end of which may be supported in elevation by a standard structure 5 or in any suitable man ner selected for installation.

The detachable spiral conveyor unit Within the trough forming tank and extending longitudinally at an incline is a ribbon flight spiral conveyor unit 2, a spiral conveyor shaft 6 is positioned within the center of the unit and is provided with spokes 7 in radial arrangement extending therefrom and to which the ribbon fiight segments 8 are attached.

The spiral conveyor shaft 6 extending longitudinally at an incline in the tank is formed at its lower end 9 to receive a bearing structure (not shown) for the journal 10 upon which the spiral conveyor shaft 6 may rotate, the spiral conveyor shaft is separable from its supporting journal at the coupler joint 11 serving as an important and simple means by which the lower end bearing 15 within the spiral conveyor shaft at 9 may be removed. Further along in the description its importance will become quite apparent in the method by which the spiral conveyor unit is detached from the classifier.

The journal 10 is provided to slide up and down in a U-like frame 12 which is secured to the lower end wall 13 of the tank, and acts as a guide support along with the lift cylinder 35 and its cylinder shaft 36 for retaining the lower end of the spiral conveyor shaft in its up and down movement. I wish to be understood I do not claim coning the spiral conveyor assembly as in Figure 1.

ception of the U frame 12 and slide 14 now well known and in use by overhead hoisting mechanism. I thereby confine myself strictly within the scope of the lifting device defined by my co-pending application Serial No. 280,217 to which this'invention is an addition.

The spiral conveyor shaft coupler At the upper end the spiral conveyor shaft 6 is formed to be coupled at a joint 16 to an extension coupler "17,'thereby forming an important and simple means by which the spiral conveyor unit 2 may be detached and removed from the classifier without disturbing the mechanism of the head-motion unit 1. The coupler or a slip joint which I prefer as shown in the Figure l having the spiral conveyor detached from the classifier and suspendedfrom the crane bail18. The slip joint coupler would comprise a female drive socket 19 to receive the driven'male member 20 and rigidly locked by a drift pin 21 that'makes solid the coupling joint 16 by which the spiral conveyor'shaftis made torotate The extension coupler 17 in turn'is journaled in the upper main bearing 22 and is itself connected to be driven by a gear wheel such as the worm gear 23 as shown in Figure 9.

The detachable head-motion unit Referring to the drawings Figures to. 9 inclusive,

drive, over the axle cross member, over the top-periphery of the worm gear, designed for the purpose in such a manner desirable for operation in the raising and lowering of the lower end of the spiral conveyor, to consist of but few parts running in oil for long life and the ease by which the moving parts may be removed and replaced or the entire head-motion unit 1 removed and replaced. Attached to the gear casing 24 and rocking with it is a motor 25 that drives a pinion gear 26 within the casing, the pinion gear turns the gear 27 fixed on the shaft 28 with the Worm 29, which in turn drives the worm gear 23 and consequently the entire spiral conveyor assembly. Here it will be seen the worm tracks the topperiphery of the worm gear allowing the motor with its pinion gear to be attached well up on the gear casing, the gear casing is mounted to the front and above the axle cross member '30 which may be a through bar or having pintle ends 31 turning in bearings 32 which may be supported on side brackets 33 as shown in the drawings. The method of construction of the casing will determine the position and location of the main upper bearing and the axle cross member for the purpose'of this invention. This structure provides an over system (over the axle cross member) of head-motion to operate by rocking forward and backward in operation as the lower end of thespiral conveyor is raised and lowered, or for detachshould 'be noted the axle cross member makes possible the tilting of the head-motion mechanism without restriction by any of its parts. A head-motion mechanism as here provided does not smear a great area around it with grease as is common with the bevel gear and pinion drive of conventional classifiers, nor is there the danger as exits with these exposed bevel gears. Drive belts that slip and wear out have been eliminated. Sand and crushed rock from spill overs cannot get into the gears as is common with bevel gear drives. And the gears are not susceptible of being stripped as is common with bevel gears.

spiral shaft bearing 22 is also in a position elevated above the axle cross member close to the upper end wall 34 of the tank, the head-motion gear casing is to the front of the axle cross member and above it,

best seen in Figures 8 and 6 I provide an over system of i thereby providing a means by which the gear casing 24 and the main shaft bearing 22 moves upwards in a manner of jump up and forward push away from the end wall 34 in the direction of the arrow, when the lower end of the spiral conveyor shaft 6 is lifted. This is well shown in Figure 1. This structure is contrary to existing structures where the bevel gear is next to the upper end wall 34 and the main spiral conveyor shaft hearing such as 22 positioned in front of the bevel gear and having the pillow block of the main bearing pintled to rock on its center, thus restricting the distance the lower end of the spiral conveyor shaft may be lifted before the bevel drive gear is jammed into the upper end wall 34 of the tank. To remove the spiral conveyor from existing structures the upper main bearing and its allied parts must be dismantled, the bevel gear is fixed to the conveyor shaft and must be removed with it thereby breaking up the entire head-motion assembly. This is a costly operation in the procedure of repairs and replacements. While in that of my structure the operation is, simply lift the lower end of the spiral conveyor with its lower end bearing assembly to the proper horizontal height to clear the lower end wall 13 of the tank, slip the rear hearing from the end of the spiral conveyor shaft coming apart at the joint 11, drive out the drift pin 21 unlocking the coupler joint 16 and slide the conveyor shaft 6 backwards to disengage the male member 20 from the extension coupler 17 coming apart at the joint 16. The entire spiral conveyor is detached from the classifier to be removed and replaced with a spare reconditioned spiral conveyor and the classifier is again ready for operation, the entire procedure requiring less than a half hour from stop to start. As the ribbon flight segments receive considerable wear, they require most frequent repairs and replacement, it is the spiral conveyor assembly that requires most fre quent removal from the classifier for repairs. This is now made a simple and quick operation by the method of this invention. It being not necessary to disturb the mechanism of the head-motion and the job made simple, this effects a great saving in shut-downs and cost of rep'airs,"and with a great many classifiers operating in a concentrator this is a very important consideration.

The spiral conveyor lifting system ing engagement with the lower end of the spiral conveyor shaft 6 by means of the yoke shaft 36 engaging the side pins 37 provided upon the lower end journal 10. This yoke shaft 36 may also be a straight jack shaft 38 coupled to the bottom of the lower end journal 10 by the coupler 39 and pin '40 as shown in Figure 10.

For operation of the automatic lift by air, low pressure air is supplied through the piping 41 to the valve box pump 42 by way of the air passage 43 intothe lift cylinder 35, the air is pumped by means of the pump plunger 44 connected to the eccentric 45 which is operated by the pump motor 46. When a circuit feed to the classifiers inexcess to the normal feed load enters the classifier, the rapidly settling particles at the bottom of the classifier tank builds up an extra load against the spiral conveyor, consequently to remove this extra load from the tank, the electric motor 25 which drives the spiral conveyor unit 2 draws an excess of electric current, this excess electric current is registered in the switch box 47 to start the pump motor 46 by way of the electrical leads 48. By this operation the spiral conveyor is then lifted a few inches out of the excess settling at the bottom of the tank, the electrical current to the motor 25 returning to normal the pump motor 46 is stopped, whereby the lifted spiral conveyor 2 gradually lowers itself to its normal operating position along the bottom of the tank by means of the slow leak valve 49 as the excess load is gradually removed. The overloading of the classifier feed circuit happens only occasionally and lasts for but a short time, this automatic lifting device is an efiective counter measure against stoppage and breakage of the classifier, effecting a saving in operating cost that otherwise would have cost considerably. I wish to be understood I do not claim any electrical switches or circuit as such switches and circuits are well known for other applications. High pressure from the valve box pump 42 (see Figures 1 and 3 in connection to Figure 13) is delivered to the lift cylinder 35 by way of the high-pressure supply pipe 43 indicated by directional arrow and union coupler 54. High pressure air follows the channel 55 to enter the valve chamber 56 over the top of the valve head 57, at a velocity and volume in excess to the free flow capacity of the channel passage 58 discharging into the lift cylinder 35 under the piston head 59. Consequently the air volume and pressure delivered to the valve chamber 56 forces the valve head 57 downward against the spring 60 to seat the valve stem 61 in shut condition across the slow leak air passage 62, after which the full supply of high pressure air passes to the lift cylinder from the valve chamber to force the piston head upwardly and consequently the spiral conveyor 2.

Upon raising the conveyor out of the overload the flow of electric current to the pump motor 46 is stopped, which stops the valve box pump 42 and high pressure air supply to the valve chamber 56. As the spring 60 at all times tends to force the valve head 57 upward against stop 63, this action takes place immediately, the flow of high pressure air supply is stopped and consequently the valve stem 61 clears the slow leak air passage 62 to slowly drain the air under the piston head 59 out of the cylinder 35 by reverse flow back through the air passage 58 into the valve chamber 56 and out the opened slow leak passage 62 to discharge out of the apparatus at junction T 64. The needle valve set screw 65 adjusts the rate of air that may escape through the slow leak air passage, which adjustment is for the required rate of lowering of the spiral 2 to its normal working position.

Again referring to Figure 13, it is to be noted the entire slow leak valve assembly may be removed by a wrench upon the nut head 66 which unscrews the assembly at the threads 67, while the entire air lift cylinder base 68 unscrews from the lift cylinder 35 at the threads 69.

The independent hydraulic lift system for the spiral conveyor is operated by way of the motor 46, which is actuated by manual control in the operation of the pump 42 acting upon a flow of fluid entering the pump through the valve and pipe 50 and delivered through the pipe passage 51 into the lift cylinder 35, for thrust in raising the spiral conveyor. This hydraulic lift system is for holding the spiral conveyor in a raised position for long periods. To lower the spiral conveyor the trapped fluid within the cylinder let out in return to its reservoir by way of a standard manually operated valve provided for that purpose.

It is thought that the construction, operation, utility, and advantages of the invention will now be clearly understood by those skilled in this art without a more detailed description thereof. While I have illustrated and described the invention as embodied in the classifier I do not intend to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of my invention.

6 Referring to Figure 11 which is a modified structure of the head-motion in casting or sheet metal stamping for the gear casing, the main bearing 22 is formed in support by the gear casing 24, lugs 52 are cast with the back half of the gear casing and are bored to fitthe axle through bar 53 providing the means upon which the head-motion until 1 is tiltable.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of my invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it to various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of the invention and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

This application is an improvement to my invention patented May 21, 1929, No. 1,714,007, the embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows.

I claim:

1. In a classifier having a longitudinally inclined tank through which a liquid medium charged with solids of finely crushed ores of different settling rates to be classified moves, said tank being open at its top and formed with a transversely curved bottom, a ribbon spiral conveyor and conveyor shaft longitudinally journalled in bearings at its upper and lower end so that the outer periphery of said spiral will operate in close spaced relation with the bottom to remove the settled material along the inclined bottom and out of the tank while the solids held in suspension by the liquid is provided an overflow at the lower end wall of said tank in elevation above the spiral conveyor, an elevationally movable bearing for the lower end of said conveyor shaft supportingly mounted submerged on the lower end wall of the tank with the upper end of said conveyor shaft main bearing supported in operating engagement with the motivating mechanism of the head motion for rotation thereby; the combination with said main bearing supported in elevation considerably spaced in vertical alignment above a transverse axle member upon which said head motion rocks, a perpendicularly disposed automatically controlled air lift cylinder afiixed to the exterior bottom surface of the tank and projecting up into the tank adjacent the lower end wall of the classifier, a cylinder shaft in vertical extension slidable within said cylinder to have the upper end thereof affixed in operating engagement with said elevational movable means provided for the lower end of said conveyor shaft, whereby air pressure within said cylinder imparts an upward thrust and downward movement to the lower end of the spiral conveyor that also rocks the head motion unit upon the axis provided by said transverse axle member.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the air lift cylinder for the lower end of the ribbon spiral conveyor includes, said air cylinder locationally disposed submerged within the liquid bath and projecting up from the bottom of the tank adjacent the lower end wall of the classifier, a slidable cylinder shaft one end of which is attached to a piston within the cylinder with the opposite end thereof elevationally engaging the lower end support for the bearing and spiral conveyor shaft, high pressure air supply to said cylinder acting upon the piston in an upward thrust upon said cylinder shaft by which the ribbon spiral conveyor is raised in elevation out of the classifier overload for continuous rotation thereof, and lowered through the medium of reducing air pressure against the piston by means of a slow leak valve in communication with the cylinder venting to the atmosphere the air trapped within said cylinder for the downward movement of the spiral conveyor, in a gradual removal of said overload out of the classifier and return to normal operating conditions.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application of the automatically controlled air lift cylinder for .said ribbon spiral conveyor includes a valve'box pump and almotorlby which the pump is actuated, said ,pump providing means by which low pressure air supply is raised to high pressure air delivered to the lift cylinder oflsmall diameter for raising a heavy spiral conveyor.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the application ofthe motivated means for the airlift mechanism includes an automatic air lift control system by which the spiral conveyor is automatically raised and lowered, said automatic system provided to operate through the medium of an electric current, to start andstop the pump motor as governed by the flow of excess current supplied References'Cited in the file of-this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,412,010 Akins Apr. 4, 1922 1,892,872 Daman Jan. 3, 1933 2,276,539 Finney Mar. 17, 1942 2,355,851 Finney Aug. 15, 1944 2,368,416 Holt Jan. 30, 1945 2,428,789 Dickson Oct. 14, 1947 

